How connectivity affects hardware design [Infographic]
Connectivity has changed dramatically over the last 30 years or so, as devices have become smaller and more powerful and we as a species have become more mobile.
To chart this change, Bluepost Digital has created an infographic of the devices we used to know and love, starting all the way back in the 1980s. At this time, Floppy Disks were used to store files, computer screens were introduced by IBM and an external CD ROM drive cost around $1,000 (£6420.
This era of the tower computer quickly gave way to the laptop in the 1990s and 2000s. Bluetooth was introduced in 1994 and is now a standard connectivity option and USBs came about in 1996, now being able to reach speeds of up to 4Gbps.
Perhaps most importantly, cloud computing started to become popular around 2006 -- championed by the likes of Google and Amazon -- and is now a multi-billion pound industry (and still growing).
Moving up to the present day, we have entered an era of single-port devices as slimmer, lightweight devices are favored.
Apple's iPads, for example, have only a single port for both charging and connectivity and USB-C has eliminated the need for multiple ports, meaning there is just one size for computers and smartphones.
The full infographic on the history of connectivity can be found below.
Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
Photo Credit: Mario Lopes/Shutterstock